The Blue Jays’ main objective this past season was defining its identity. In these last few years, Toronto’s front office skirted away from extending any players other than starting pitcher José Berríos. While other teams around the league didn’t hesitate to extend talents like Ronald Acuña Jr., Rafael Devers, Jackson Merrill, and Bobby Witt Jr., the Blue Jays were the sole team that didn’t make any long-term commitments to young core players. 

Extension discussions with four-time All-Star Vladimir Guerrero Jr. have always been difficult, mainly because no one knew the infielder’s given his inconsistencies over the years. The 26-year-old first baseman’s performance has fluctuated since his debut in 2019, with 2021 being his best year with 48 home runs under his belt and an MVP-worthy season. However, the son of a Hall of Famer went through rough patches in 2022 and 2023 when he struggled live up to sky-high expectations, albeit still putting up solid numbers compared to the league standard. 
<div class="bam-inline-promotion" data-property-id="330" data-promotion-id="18983" data-context="“web-content-promocard&quot;"></div>
But that was until Guerrero Jr. found his form in the back half of the 2024 season — all the leverage was on his side when he recorded a slash line of .323/.396/.544 to finish out the year. After his redemption, the two sides continued to hammer out a deal before Vladdy&#8217;s self-imposed spring training deadline. February came around, and Toronto couldn’t reach any agreement with Guerrero Jr.’s camp, and both sides headed straight into the 2025 season. 
The Blue Jays may have traded for Andrés Giménez and Nick Sandlin while signing power bat Anthony Santander and seasoned pitchers Yimi Garcia, Jeff Hoffman, and future Hall of Famer Max Scherzer, but their offseason was a bit of a disappointment without any extensions for Guerrero Jr. or Bo Bichette. The absence of a sure-fire future was already leaving the franchise in a murky position, with many positing a possible rebuild era should Guerrero Jr. and Bichette depart following this season. That uncertainty alone was enough to drag down Toronto’s off-season grade to B- in my opinion. 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
First baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and the Toronto Blue Jays are in agreement on a 14-year, $500 million contract extension, pending physical, sources tell ESPN. A monumental, no-deferral deal to keep the homegrown star in Toronto for the rest of his career.
&mdash; Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) <a href="https://twitter.com/JeffPassan/status/1909098446767661368?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 7, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Despite the seemingly unending back-and-forths, the Blue Jays finally reached a 14-year, $500-million contract with Guerrero Jr. on Monday &#8211; well past his deadline. This news sent shockwaves around the league and solidified the Blue Jays’ intention to have a face for the franchise. With limited names hanging around past the 2027 season, Toronto would have needed to consider heading into an agonizing rebuilding period once again. Locking down Guerrero Jr. for more than a decade, however, changes the team’s outlook entirely, with one cornerstone in place to defend Toronto’s contender status. It&#8217;s a lot of money to give to a first baseman but its the contract the club needed to sign to keep Guerrero around long-term. 
The first baseman has always been vocal about playing in Toronto for all of his career. Hypothetically, an earlier extension would have been more than possible, given the Canada-born player’s passion for the team. Yet, what prolonged this eventual extension was the front office’s rational-too-fault approach to signings and extensions and sticking to their valuations. This iteration of the Blue Jays’ front office hasn’t exactly been the most adventurous, and betting on even a talented player like Guerrero Jr. was already asking for the world. It is a risky deal by many measures &#8211; it comes with the territory of a long contract &#8211; but it was the right move to make to keep the slugger in Toronto, even if the deal sours over time. 
The fact that the Blue Jays decided to go all in on their star player fundamentally sets up the team for long-term contention, at least in theory. The only reason why Toronto can’t quite get to A or even A+ is that the team still needs a few more pieces to make the roster completely whole. Another impact bat would have been great, and another veteran reliever to round out the group would have given this team a higher grade. 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
José Berríos, after praising Vladimir Guerrero Jr. as a special talent &quot;born to play this game&quot;, added:
“I know that I have this year and three more, I think, so hopefully I can extend my career here to keep playing beside him and try to bring a trophy to Toronto.” <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BlueJays?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BlueJays</a>
&mdash; Keegan Matheson (@KeeganMatheson) <a href="https://twitter.com/KeeganMatheson/status/1909434907417358443?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 8, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The Baltimore Orioles, the Boston Red Sox, the New York Yankees and even the Tampa Bay Rays remain a menace because of their ability to get in the star players they need–or in Tampa Bay’s case, underrated players–while having a stronger farm system they can rely on. That’s the depth and quality Toronto lacks at the moment and will be the biggest issue they have to resolve if they are serious about contending for a long time. 
Following the Guerrero extension (even though it came a bit late into the year), the offseason grade now becomes an A- with the superstar now locked up for the long term.
<hr />
<div class="bam-inline-promotion" data-property-id="324" data-promotion-id="18983" data-context="web-content-promocard"></div>

The Blue Jays’ main objective this past season was defining its identity. In these last few years, Toronto’s front office skirted away from extending any players other than starting pitcher José Berríos. While other teams around the league didn’t hesitate to extend talents like Ronald Acuña Jr., Rafael Devers, Jackson Merrill, and Bobby Witt Jr., the Blue Jays were the sole team that didn’t make any long-term commitments to young core players. 



Extension discussions with four-time All-Star Vladimir Guerrero Jr. have always been difficult, mainly because no one knew the infielder’s given his inconsistencies over the years. The 26-year-old first baseman’s performance has fluctuated since his debut in 2019, with 2021 being his best year with 48 home runs under his belt and an MVP-worthy season. However, the son of a Hall of Famer went through rough patches in 2022 and 2023 when he struggled live up to sky-high expectations, albeit still putting up solid numbers compared to the league standard. 
<div class="bam-inline-promotion" data-property-id="330" data-promotion-id="18983" data-context="“web-content-promocard&quot;"></div>
But that was until Guerrero Jr. found his form in the back half of the 2024 season — all the leverage was on his side when he recorded a slash line of .323/.396/.544 to finish out the year. After his redemption, the two sides continued to hammer out a deal before Vladdy's self-imposed spring training deadline. February came around, and Toronto couldn’t reach any agreement with Guerrero Jr.’s camp, and both sides headed straight into the 2025 season. 

The Blue Jays may have traded for Andrés Giménez and Nick Sandlin while signing power bat Anthony Santander and seasoned pitchers Yimi Garcia, Jeff Hoffman, and future Hall of Famer Max Scherzer, but their offseason was a bit of a disappointment without any extensions for Guerrero Jr. or Bo Bichette. The absence of a sure-fire future was already leaving the franchise in a murky position, with many positing a possible rebuild era should Guerrero Jr. and Bichette depart following this season. That uncertainty alone was enough to drag down Toronto’s off-season grade to B- in my opinion. 

https://twitter.com/JeffPassan/status/1909098446767661368

Despite the seemingly unending back-and-forths, the Blue Jays finally reached a 14-year, $500-million contract with Guerrero Jr. on Monday - well past his deadline. This news sent shockwaves around the league and solidified the Blue Jays’ intention to have a face for the franchise. With limited names hanging around past the 2027 season, Toronto would have needed to consider heading into an agonizing rebuilding period once again. Locking down Guerrero Jr. for more than a decade, however, changes the team’s outlook entirely, with one cornerstone in place to defend Toronto’s contender status. It's a lot of money to give to a first baseman but its the contract the club needed to sign to keep Guerrero around long-term. 

The first baseman has always been vocal about playing in Toronto for all of his career. Hypothetically, an earlier extension would have been more than possible, given the Canada-born player’s passion for the team. Yet, what prolonged this eventual extension was the front office’s rational-too-fault approach to signings and extensions and sticking to their valuations. This iteration of the Blue Jays’ front office hasn’t exactly been the most adventurous, and betting on even a talented player like Guerrero Jr. was already asking for the world. It is a risky deal by many measures - it comes with the territory of a long contract - but it was the right move to make to keep the slugger in Toronto, even if the deal sours over time. 

The fact that the Blue Jays decided to go all in on their star player fundamentally sets up the team for long-term contention, at least in theory. The only reason why Toronto can’t quite get to A or even A+ is that the team still needs a few more pieces to make the roster completely whole. Another impact bat would have been great, and another veteran reliever to round out the group would have given this team a higher grade. 

https://twitter.com/KeeganMatheson/status/1909434907417358443

The Baltimore Orioles, the Boston Red Sox, the New York Yankees and even the Tampa Bay Rays remain a menace because of their ability to get in the star players they need–or in Tampa Bay’s case, underrated players–while having a stronger farm system they can rely on. That’s the depth and quality Toronto lacks at the moment and will be the biggest issue they have to resolve if they are serious about contending for a long time. 

Following the Guerrero extension (even though it came a bit late into the year), the offseason grade now becomes an A- with the superstar now locked up for the long term.

<hr />

<div class="bam-inline-promotion" data-property-id="324" data-promotion-id="18983" data-context="web-content-promocard"></div>

Re-grading the Blue Jays offseason following the Vladimir Guerrero Jr. extension

Recent articles from Veronica Chung

Breaking News